Automatic musical instrument.



No. 798,226. l PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

- L. STOCKES.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED .IAN.28,1904. EENBWED FEB.1,1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

/ L. STOCKES.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

PATENTBD AUG. 29, 1905.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2B. 1904. BENEWED PEB. 1I 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No. 798,226. PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905. L.'STCCKES.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1904. BBNEWED FEB. 1. 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FMEA, Ik 1g* JV h WIM/Leases:

Nunn-a a GRAHAM co, Pmroimosmwans, wswxarun u c No. 798,226. PATENTEDAUG. 29, 1905.

L. STOGKBS.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL NSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2B, 1904. RENEWED FEB. l, 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 4,

z H3 H Witnesses: Inventor: mw. my@

PATENTED AUG. 29, 1905.

L. STOGKBS. AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT. PPLwATIoN rum JAN. 2s. 1904.RENBWEDPEB. 1. 1905.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

FICLQ.

mouw c www1 no.. Pmmavwocmwlns. mswunvu u c No. 798,226. PATENTED AUG.29, 1905.

L. STOCKES. AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1904. RENEWED FEB. l. 1905.

G SHEETS-SHEET 6.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEIcE.

AUTOMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

lPatented. Aug. 29, 1905.

Application filed January 28, 1904. Renewed February l, 1905. Serial No.243,662.

To @il whom t 71mg/ concern:

Be it known that I, LEON STooKEs, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAutomatic Musical Instruments, of which the following is aspecification.

lVIy invention relates to improvements in musical instruments, andparticulary to automatic playing instruments.

The object of my invention is to make such improvements in theconstruction and arrangement of the different parts of the instrumentthat the same will operate effectively, not get out of order, tosimplify the construction, and reduce the cost of manufacture.

A further object of my invention is to provide a revolving drum forcarrying the perforated music-sheets so that several different tunes maybe played by the instruments automatically.

A further object of my invention is to provide means of revolving saiddrum automatically after a tune has been played or to revolve said drumby hand, so that any tune may be played that is desired, and also toautomatically stop the motor used for operating the parts at the end ofeach tune and to provide a dial on which is indicated the next tune tobe played.

A still further object of my invention is to provide effectivemechanical means between the music-sheets and the strings of theinstruments to pick said strings and also to operate the neck-piece ofthe instruments so as to change the length of the open space on thestrings for the purpose of making different notes.

A still further object of my invention is to couple two instrumentstogether to increase the volume of music; but means is provided to throwone instrument out of action when desired.

In the drawings, Figure l represents a front elevation of my improvedmusical instrument. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view as on line 2 2,Fig. 1. Fig. Sis alongitudinal sectional view as on line 3 3, Fig. 2.Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view as on line 4 4, Fig. 3. Fig. is alongitudinal sectional view as on line 5 5, Fig. 1, on a larger scale.Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view as on line 6 6, Fig. l, on alarger scale.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view as on line 7 7, Fig. 4, on alarger scale. Fig. 8 is a face view, full size, of the neck-piece of oneof the instruments. Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional view as on line 9 9,Fig. 8. Fig. 10 is a diagrammatical view in perspective,showing themeans for operating the frets on the neck-piece; and Fig.'1l is a Viewsimilar to Fig. 10, but showing the means for picking the strings.

Referring to the drawings, A and A represent mandolins, which are thekind of instruments used in this instance; but any other stringinstruments may be used instead. The mandolins are held by bolts c anda' to the casing B. On each instrument is a neck-piece A2, over whichpass the strings A3, A", A5, and A, each consisting of three wires. rIheneck-piece A2is more clearly shown in Figs. 5, 8, and 9. The strings arestretched from the fret A7 to the tailpiece AS, and when the string ispicked one note will be produced. To produce a different note, thelength of the string must be shortened, which is done by having a seriesof frets C under each string, as shown in Fig. 8. These frets when intheir normal position do not touch the strings. Each of said frets Cconsists of a shaft c, as shown in Fig. l0, said shaft having ablade c/and a segmental gear c2. The said shaftis piv- 'otally mounted in theneck-piece, and when turned to the position shown in Fig. l() the bladec will contact with the string and shorten the length of said string,and a clear tone will be produced when the string' is picked. A gear o,carried by a rock-shaft ci, engages the gear c2 and operates the same.Separate rock-shaft and segmental gear are provided for each fret, asshown in Figs. 2, 5, 8, and 9. Each rock-shaft o'L has an arm c5thereon, to which is connected a wire c, the lower end of said wirebeing connected to a lever D, which is operated by the sheet of musicD10. There is a row of levers D, as shown in Figs. 4 and 7. They restupon the sheet of music, which is of metal and of suflicient strength tosupport the levers. In the musicsheet are perforations, which pass underthe levers as the music-sheet is turned and allow the levers to dropinto said perforations and pull the wires c and operate the frets C.Four of the said levers, as shown at D/, D2, D3, and D4, Fig. 7, operatethe mechanism for picking the strings, which is shown in Figs. 2, 6, 7,and 11. The said levers D', D2, D3,

IOO

and D`l are connected by wires d, di, (.23, and di to arms E on therock-shafts E, F121, E3, and El; Each of said rock-shafts is provided ateithei` end with a segmental gear e, which engages the rack-bars F, F2,F3, and F". The rack-bars are provided with cam-surfacesf, which contactwith similar cam-surfaces on the picker-hars G, Gi, G, and G", which areat right angles to the rack-bars. .lhe pickerbars carry the pickers G,which are of ieXible material, such as tortoise-shell. These pickers aredrawn over the strings when the wires al', d, d, or Z1 are pulleddownwardly, and when said wires are released the pickers are drawn backto their normal position by the springs g and f on the picker-bar andrack-bar, respectively.

As shown in F 6, the rack-bars are mounted in bearings F on thecross-pieces F, which support the rock-shafts E, Ei, Ef, and l. Thepicker-bars G', fr, G3, and G" are mounted in a square bar Gl, securedon an ornamental plate G7, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. The ornamentalplate G7 on one of the mandolins is pivotally mounted on a shaft G,which can be turned by means of the worn'rwheel G on said shaft, theworm G10 on a vertical shaft lu, the bevel-gears G1, and thelongitudinal shaft G13, having a knob Gu on the front of the casing,whereby the said ornamental plate G7 may be swung away from the strings,so that the pickers will not act on said strings, thus preventing one ofthe mandolins from sounding. The said ornamental plate, however, is notmoved sufliciently to disengage the rack-bars from the picker-bars. Thesaid rack-bars may be drawn slightly forward without being disengagedfrom the segmental gears e.

The music-sheets which operate the levers D, as above described, arecarried by rolls H, mounted in bearings /i on a drum I, which is carriedby a vertical shaft mounted in bearings c" and f2. The drum I isrevolved so as to bring any one of the music-sheets under the levers D,which said levers are operated by the music-sheet passingl under them,the perforations in said music-sheet allowing the said levers to drop.The rolls H, carrying said music-sheets, are turned by a gear-wheel /ion the shaft carrying said rolls. The said gear-wheel receives motionthrough the gearwheel h3 on the shaft 7i", having a pulley /t'l thereon,which is driven by a belt t from the motor lV. The rolls H are providedwith an'- nular ribs H, as shown in Fig. l0, to support the music-sheetbetween the perforations, which are cut in rows. The end ribs H on thesaid rolls are somewhat larger than the inner ribs and are provided withteeth H3, which enter the perforations on the edge of the music-sheetsand keep the same from slipping. The music-sheets are made of liexiblemetal, So that they will hang in a loop from the rolls H, which permitsthemusic-sheets to be of sufficient length to play a full tune.

The drum I is provided with radial partitions I, which keep themusic-sheets from touching each other. The levers D are pivoted to across-piece (Z, and their free ends are held in a slotted plate D, whichcarries springs D to act upon each lever separately, which tend to holdthem down upon the music-sheet. The drum l is revolved by theratchet-wheel l( on the shaft vi, which is engaged by a pawl on the barThe said bar 1 has an eccentric ring /r formed therein, which encirclcsthe cam L on the shaft L, so that upon every -revolution of the shaft Lthe drum will be turned a fraction of a revolution, according to thenumber of teeth in the ratchet-wheel K, which correspond to the numberof musicrolls carried by the drum. To lock the drum in a position wherethe music-sheet will be under the levers l), a level' M is provided,which is pivoted at fm.. A pin M, carried by said lever, is adapted toenter holes in the bottom of the drum and keep said drum from turning.The cam L has a cam-surface f on the top face, which will raise thelever M and release the pin M on the opposite end of said lever from thedrum. The shaft L may be operated by the handle J through medium of theshaft J and the bevel-gears J:s and J when it is desired to turn thedrum to selecta particular tune, or said shaft may be operatedautomatically.

When a tune has been played, a perforation in the music-sheet will allowthe lever Dx to fall, which by means of the pivoted bar N will separatethe gear-wheels /zfi and 7L, which will stop the music sheet fromrevolving. The shaft carrying the said gear-wheel /z/i,

lis mounted in bearings 71, and lf, which are carried by arms extendingfrom a shaft l/f", pivoted in a bearing 7L", which will allow the saidshaft /t'i to oseillate. l/Vhen the said lever Ds has acted, the saidshaft /o will move sufiiciently to bring the bevel-gear j in mesh withthe bevel-gear J1 and turn the vertical shaft L.

Then the shaft L has been turned one revolution, a new sheet of musicwill be brought under the levers D. The motor is then stopped by meansof the cam Ll on the shaft L. The arm P of the bell-crank lever P dropsinto the low place on the cam L, which causes the opposite arm P2 tostrike the lever P3, which engages a toothed wheel w on the motor-shaftand stops said motor. A cam Q shifts the oscillating` shaft back intoengagement with the gear-wheel 7b2 on the music-roll, so that the saidmusic-roll will be ready to operate when the motor is again started.rlhe starting-lever R is carried bya bearing fr, which is pivoted to afixed bracket fr. llo start the machine, the lever R is moved to theleft, when its lower end R will strike the lever Pfand IOO IIO

IIS

release the wheel w on the motor-shaft and l male contact between theelectrical connecl tions P1 and P, which will start the motor.

Vhen it is desired to select a particular tune, the lever R is forcedinwardly against the action of the spring R2, when the pin R3 on saidlever will strike the free arm of the ratchet-pawl R4, which willrelease the ratchetwheel R5 on the shaft J2, so that said shaft may beturned by the handle J, and thereby turn the drum l until the desiredpiece of music Ais brought under the levers D. l/Vhen the lever R isthus forced in, it will also act on the bell-crank lever S, whichthrough the medium of the bell-crank lever S/ and the connecting-rods S2and S3 will raise the end of the oscillating shaft la* and separate thegears 7a2 and if, so that the music-roll will notturn. The saidoscillating' shaft is not moved sufficiently to bring the bevel-gears jand J* into action. A friction-clutch (not shown) may be providedbetween the shaft J2 and the ratchet-pawl R4, so that the shaft J2 canbe turned freely when driven by the motor without turning the handle Jand so that said shaft J2 can only be turned by the handle J/ when theratchet-wheel R is released from the ratchet-pawl R4. To allow theoscillating shaft to be thus moved, it is necessary to free the roller qon the bar q from the cam Q. This is done by having the bar Q pivoted tothe bearing 7&7 and its lower end engaged by the connecting-rod S2, sothat when said connecting'- rod is moved the roller q will be moved freeof the said cam Q. After thelever R has been thus forced in and the drumI turned by the handle J and the proper musicroll brought into place thesaid lever R is forced to the left, as above described, when it will actupon the arm P3, which will release the motor, and also makes contactbetween the electrical connections and starts the motor. The said leverR is then released and forced out by the spring R2, which brings thegears 7b2 and la" together, so that motion may be communicated to theroll H from the motor.

A dial T (see Fig. l) is provided to indicate the next tune to beplayed. Each piece of music has a number corresponding to the number onthe dial, the title of which is printed on a program. Theindicator-shaft t has a bevel-gear t', (shown in Fig. 2,) which mesheswith a bevel-g'ear 152 on a vertical shaft t3, having a toothed wheeltf, which is turned by pins t5, projecting' from the drum l. 'lhere is apin for each piece of music, and the movements of the drum will beindicated on the dial.

Having' thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent- 1. T he combination in an automatic musical instrument,of a stringed instrument, a neckpiece, frets pivoted in said neck-piece,rockshafts, gears. between said roch-shafts, and said frets, an arm onsaid rock-shaft, a lever,

' a wire connecting said lever and said rockshaft, and a perforatedmusic-sheet adapted to control and operate said lever, substantially asdescribed.

Q. The combinationin an automatic musical instrument, of a plurality ofstringed instru- Vments, roch-shafts extending between the same,pickers, picker-bars, means of communicating motion from saidrock-shafts to said pickers, arms on said rock-shafts, wires attached tothe same, levers to .operate said wires, and a perforated music-sheet tooperate said levers, substantially as described.

3. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a plurality ofstringed instruments, movable frets, rock-shafts, means of communicatingmotion from said rock-shafts to said frets, pickers, picker-bars,rack-bars contacting with said picker bars, springs, rock-shafts tooperate said rack-bars, an arm on each of said rock-shafts, wiresattached to said arms, levers to operate said wires, and a perforatedmusic-sheet to control and operate said levers, substantially asdescribed.

t. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, a drum, rollsupon said drum, a series of levers, and means of turning' said drum soas to bring the said rolls under said levers, substantially asdescribed.

5. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a drum, .shaftcarrying the same, means of revolving said shaft, radial partitions insaid drum, rolls mounted in bearings upon the top of said drum, aperforated music-sheet carried by each of said rolls, and means ofrevolving' said rolls, substantially as described.

6. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a drum, rollscarried by said drum, a g'ear-wheel on each of said rolls, a gear-wheelupon an oscillating shaft, a motor for driving' said oscillating' shaft,and means of moving' said oscillating shaft to separate said gears,substantially as described.

7. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a casing, twostringed instruments secured in the same, neck-pieces, movable frets,rock-shafts connecting' the frets on either stringed instruments, leverscontrolling said rock-shafts, pickers, picker-bars, rackbars,rock-shafts, engaging said rack-bars, levers controlling' saidrock-shafts, a drum, a plurality of In usic-sheets carried by said drum,means of rotating said music-sheets, and means of rotating said drum,substantially as described.

8. The combination in an automatic musical instrument, of a casing, adrum, music-sheets carried by said drum, levers operated by saidmusic-sheets, stringed instruments, means of playing said instrument bysaid levers, adial, a shaft carrying an indicator, a vertical shaft IOOIIO

I0 said levers, an ornamental plate carryingsaid pickers and means ofwithdrawing said ornamental plate from the strings of said instrumentsso that said pickers Will not act on said strings, substantially asdescribed.

In testlmony whereof I afix my slgnatu re 1n 1 5 presence of twoWitnesses.

LEON STGCKES. WVitnesses:

E. D. PATTERSON, LLOYD BAILY.

